This invention relates to a canopy support for beds and method of assembly and, more particularly, to a canopy support featuring a unique locking means between the side and transverse members.
Canopy supports for beds have been known for a long time and historically were constructed of wood. For the most part, such canopy frames had a central arch in the side members giving a distinctive and eye pleasing appearance.
More recently, other materials of construction have been employed for the canopy supports--for example my U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,118 dealt with a support constructed of metal. In view of the fact that the canopy frames were made at one place, sold at another, and erected in the home of the purchaser at still another place, it was most desirable to have "knock-down" supports for convenience of handling and shipping. This emphasized the need for having secure connections between the various parts.
In the interest of reliability and economy, the art made use of other materials of construction such as plastic as seen in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,741,225; 4,004,306; 4,068,333 and 4,074,377. Persisting throughout all of the art development was the concern about having a reliable connection between the various parts of the canopy support--it being imperative that the "knock-down" support, when assembled, be secure in view of the fact that it was positioned over a sleeper.
Quite apart from the concern over safety, there has been a continuing and expanding interest on the part of consumers for canopy beds. Many consumers have been concerned about the cost as well as the potential difficulty of self-assembly. Virtually everyone has had the experience of the difficulty in assembling many products, not only children's toys at Christmastime. Cost, of course, is determined not only by the complexity of manufacture but the weight and bulk of the article for the various stages of shipment.
All of these interrelated problems have been solved according to the instant invention which makes use of tubular metal for the various components of the canopy support free of the costly and difficult to manipulate clips or other attaching means and which is secure when assembled against accidental detachment or disassembly. More particularly, the intermediate transverse members are equipped with L-shaped flanges which fit into slots in the side members. The side member sections are initially positioned with the arch portions in a horizontal plane and one leg of the L-shaped flange inserted therein. Then, after the intermediate members are connected at both ends to opposite side member sections, the sections are rotated to place the arch portions in a vertical plane, i.e., in final orientation. This causes the inner leg of the L-shaped flange to be positioned in the slot whereby the outer leg serves as a positive lock. Thus, the canopy support is economically manufactured, lightweight for further economy, easily assembled, and most importantly, safe when assembled. All of these beneficial results from the novel construction and operation which is now set forth in greater detail in the ensuing detailed description.